This invention concerns the cleaning of paint-applicator rollers, and more particularly related to a device for removing water-based paint from paint-applicator rollers.
Rollers are widely used for the application of paint to surfaces, particularly flat surfaces where it is desired to avoid the appearance of stroke marks that would result from the use of a paint brush. Water-based paints, comprised of latex of a synthetic polymer such as polyvinyl acetate, enjoy widespread popularity because they are free of volatile, flammable solvents, and permit easy paint removal with water prior to the drying of the paint.
The rollers are comprised of open-ended tubes having a cylindrically shaped rigid wall and an exterior porous layer attached to the rigid wall. The porous layer may be an open-celled synthetic foamed polymer or a fibrous composition of appreciable thickness. The roller is adapted for use with a holder comprised of a handle position and a swiveled mounting portion which insertively engages the roller.
A roller which is laden with water-based paint can be rinsed with water prior to the drying of the paint. The rinsing will remove the paint and restore the roller almost to its original condition, thereby permitting re-use of the roller. To facilitate the rinsing operation, a number of devices have earlier been disclosed. In general, such devices utilize water from a garden hose, causing the water to impinge upon the roller, and further provide a housing to minimize inadvertent splashing of the removed paint, then diluted by the rinse water.
Such prior devices, however, have either been inefficient in their operation, difficult to use, or of expensively complex design.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a device for cleaning paint rollers in an efficient manner utilizing a stream of water delivered from a flexible hose.
It is another object of this invention to provide a device of the foregoing object which may be easily used to clean rollers which are still mounted on their holders.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a device of the aforesaid nature which will prevent the inadvertent splashing of paint removed from the roller.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a device of the aforesaid nature of simple and rugged construction which may be economically manufactured.
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.